Sciatica is common for military veterans and can make life extremely uncomfortable and painful. Veterans with sciatica may be eligible for VA disability benefits if they can prove that their issue results from their time in the service. This post explains the sciatica VA rating.
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If you have shooting pain down your legs and feel like you can hardly move them, you may have sciatica. But did you know that paralysis of the sciatic nerve is one of the most common service-connected disabilities, with millions of veterans receiving compensation for it every year? This post explains the sciatica VA rating and how to know if you may qualify for disability benefits.
In this article about VA ratings for sciatica:
What is sciatica?
Sciatica, also known as “lumbar radiculopathy,” occurs when irritation, inflammation, or some type of damage affects the sciatic nerve, which runs down your lower back and legs. Sciatica causes pain, numbness, and muscle weakness. In severe cases, it can also cause urinary or bowel incontinence.
Sciatica is a common health issue, with about 40% of people in the U.S. experiencing it at any point in their lives in some form. However, veterans are considered at a higher risk for sciatica because of service-related injuries or wear and tear on the back. Specifically, veterans are 12.2% more likely to experience sciatica than the general population.
The sciatica VA rating
The severity of the symptoms for sciatica are going to affect your VA rating. The VA rates sciatica in the Schedule of Ratings under diagnostic codes 8520, 8620, and 8720, depending on whether your condition is classified as paralysis, neuritis, or neuralgia.
Diagnostic code 8520 is for paralysis of the sciatic nerve. Its rating criteria is as follows:
Diagnostic code 8620 is for neuritis, or inflammation, of the sciatic nerve. Symptoms, including severe loss of reflexes, loss of sensation, muscle atrophy, and severely reduced movement, can be considered severe neuritis. The VA rating for neuritis of the sciatic nerve depends on whether symptoms are severe, moderate, and mild sciatic neuritis can be rated up to 60% under the criteria in the chart above. It may also be rated at 40%, 20%, or 10%.
Diagnostic code 8720 is for neuralgia of the sciatic nerve. Symptoms include tingling, numbness, and moderate to severe pain. While neuritis has to do with inflammation of the nerve, neuralgia means you’re experiencing pain. Sciatic nerve neuralgia can be rated at 10% or 20%, using the criteria in the chart above.
VA SMC for sciatica
Complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve leads to loss of use of the foot or feet, which warrants special monthly compensation (SMC).
SMC is a type of disability benefit for veterans that increases the amount of compensation you receive for certain severe disabilities.
The VA provides SMC for various reasons, most often related to the loss of function of extremities and other senses. “This additional money is intended to pay the veteran for the disability as well as the accommodations that they need to take care of their everyday needs,” explained VA disability lawyer Neil Woods.
Sciatica and related conditions
Sciatica is frequently caused by a herniated disc or bone growth, like a bone spur. It also can cause pain, numbness, or other issues in other parts of the lower body, like the hip and knee. Further, sciatica can cause incontinence of the bowels and the urinary tract.
If you experience any of these other health conditions, it’s worth discussing with your doctor to determine whether they’re related to sciatica. Secondary service connections can help increase your overall VA disability rating and monthly payments, ensuring you get the full compensation you deserve for service-related conditions.
Can sciatica be a presumptive condition?
A presumptive service connection means that when a qualifying veteran applies for sciatica VA disability benefits, they are not required to submit a medical opinion the sciatica is medically linked to their service.
Sciatica is not a presumptive condition unless its onset was documented during active duty service. However, peripheral neuropathy, including sciatic neuropathy, is also a presumptive condition for veterans who were held as POWs for more than 30 days. Early-onset peripheral neuropathy, including early-onset sciatic neuropathy, is presumptive for veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
Sciatic neuropathy is considered constant pain in the nerve caused by damage that doesn’t dissipate over a period of time. You may experience more consistent pain and more pain to the touch with sciatic neuropathy than with sciatica. If you are diagnosed with sciatic neuropathy and are eligible under the Agent Orange or POW presumptive criteria, you would not have to prove a service connection.
VA C&P exam for sciatica
Compensation and pension exams (C&P exams) are meant to determine how severe your condition is and whether it is service connected. The VA C&P exam for sciatica will typically include questions about your military service and a physical exam to check nerve reflexes and how the knees and legs respond to external stimuli.
The most common physical test for diagnosing sciatica is called a straight leg raise (SLR) test. In this test, you like or you back and lift one leg at a time while the other leg lays flat or is bent at the knee. You then express to the doctor when you feel pain, helping them measure the extent of your sciatica.
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TDIU for sciatica
A veteran can be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) benefits if they can’t maintain “substantially gainful employment” due to their service-connected conditions.
If you have sciatica, walking or standing may be difficult, if not impossible, depending on the severity of your condition. You also may experience pain when you move during a flare-up. This condition can make it difficult to do any job where you must stand, walk, or sit for long periods of time without a great deal of pain and discomfort. If that’s the case, you may qualify for TDIU.
TDIU pays at the same level as a 100% disability rating, even when the veteran’s combined rating is below 100%.
Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:
- At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more
How our VA-accredited attorneys can help
If you have a service-connected condition that affects your ability to live and work comfortably, you deserve VA disability compensation. Contact Woods & Woods today for a free consultation to see how we can help. You only pay us if we win.
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Frequently asked questions
If you experience complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve, you should receive the highest sciatica VA rating of 80%. Complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve means you also can’t use your foot, which warrants special monthly compensation beyond your rating payment. Otherwise, the rating may be 60%, 40%, 20%, or 10%.
Sciatica isn’t a presumptive condition for most veterans. However, peripheral neuropathy, including sciatic neuropathy, is a presumptive condition for veterans exposed to Agent Orange if it is early-onset and for POWs held more than 30 days.
Neil Woods
Neil Woods is a VA disability attorney and the owner and president of Woods & Woods. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
